Oral Answers to Questions

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Monday 27th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

We are aware of that. That is one reason why we have increased the clinical support that is available to assessors. They are all healthcare professionals, so they will have that expert advice on hand in the assessment centres. That is something that we brought in recently.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

Has the Secretary of State watched or listened to an appeal hearing for PIP applicants? I have received information and representations from a number of constituents who feel intimidated and misrepresented by the process. What steps is he taking to ensure that the people involved in the process are treated with the respect, dignity and compassion that they deserve?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her comments. We think about every stage of this process. Clearly, if people appeal and those appeals are upheld, we have not got it right earlier in the process. I have mentioned some things that we are doing to build trust, confidence and support. We are also introducing a video relay service in April, which will be of particular help to those who are deaf or hard of hearing. There are a number of small changes like that that we can make to ensure that we get a good result earlier in the process.

Personal Independence Payments

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Tuesday 28th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Damian Green]

Yes. That point has been made by a number of non-governmental organisations, as well as colleagues on both sides of the House. We are looking at it very seriously.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

Some of my constituents are unable to leave their homes without assistance due to a physical disability and some are unable to leave their homes because of a mental disability. Why should one be entitled to receive support via PIP, but not the other?

[Damian Green]

They will both be entitled to PIP at the level that will be assessed. Each individual is different and has different levels of difficulty. It is often the case that for people who are blind, with visual or cognitive impairments, they will not have a fluctuating condition. It will clearly be less amenable to treatment than some other conditions. It is the level of difficulty in a person’s daily life, whether they have a physical or a mental health problem, that matters in terms of the PIP assessment.

Benefit Claimants Sanctions (Required Assessment) Bill

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 2nd December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Helen Whately]

Let me make a bit of progress to get on to my second page, and I shall take more interventions later.

My main point is that we should all agree that it is perfectly reasonable to expect that in return for receiving a share of somebody else’s income as a benefit payment, the recipient should, if capable, make an effort to work. None of us wants a “something for nothing” culture—that is not good for anyone—and, rightly, conditions are attached to benefits. As long as those conditions are reasonable, it is also reasonable to attach a penalty for not complying, which is what the sanctions system does. Underpinning that is the social contract, which was mentioned earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West. The simple moral case is that people who hope to benefit from a society that gives them certain rights and supports them when they are in need must also take responsibility themselves.

[Ms Ahmed-Sheikh]

I am interested in the point that the hon. Lady is making about the social contract. Should not the same apply to all those women who paid into a contractual pension scheme—the WASPI women? Are they not also entitled to have that money paid back to them by the state?

[Helen Whately]

I think the hon. Lady is attempting to take us into a completely different debate. However— I am now looking at you, Madam Deputy Speaker—I will continue my remarks about the Bill. I think you are in agreement with me, Madam Deputy Speaker, because you are nodding.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Monday 11th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People (Justin Tomlinson)]

I fully agree that being in work has many benefits beyond the immediate economic security that it brings. It gives us a sense of value and can greatly benefit our mental and physical wellbeing, which is why this Government are championing the transformative role of work. With more people in work than ever before, we are making sure that the whole of society benefits from our growing economy.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

T7. With an 87% budget cut by the UK Government in the first year of employability services in Scotland, will the Secretary of State tell us precisely what his Government are doing to support people back into work in Scotland? Perhaps he can take this opportunity to congratulate the Scottish Government on the £20 million of extra support that they have been giving to help people back into work when this Government have been letting down the people of Scotland.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Monday 1st February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

1. What support his Department has made available to women born in the 1950s who are affected by recent changes in the age at which they become eligible for the state pension.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

2. What support his Department has made available to women born in the 1950s who are affected by recent changes in the age at which they become eligible for the state pension.

[Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)]

7. What support his Department has made available to women born in the 1950s who are affected by recent changes in the age at which they become eligible for the state pension.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vara]

The equalisation measures of the Pensions Act 2011 were introduced, and the matter was expedited, to ensure that we covered for the fact that there had to be a sustainable pensions budget. It is also important to remember that people are living a lot longer. We have to take that into account, which is why we had to accelerate the issue.

[Ms Ahmed-Sheikh]

The Minister speaks often of equality, but his Department’s policies clearly have a disproportionate impact on so many women in this country. Not only are women born in the 1950s unequally affected by the pension plans, but many women will also lose out under the new single-tier pension rules. Should not the Government act now to allow people to opt to have a year treated as a qualifying year if, by including the income from two or more jobs, that person’s earnings are at least equal to the earnings factor for that year?

[Mr Vara]

I remind the hon. Lady of the record issues we have achieved for female employees. We now have record female employment, at a rate of 69.1%, and there are more than 1 million more women in work since 2010. The number of older women in work is at a record high, with more than 100,000 more than last year. The people to whom the hon. Lady refers are all benefiting from the measures I have mentioned.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Monday 7th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s suggestion, and I would be delighted to liaise and work with colleagues to make that point. The more that we all do to switch energy suppliers and producers, the more money we can all save in the long run.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

The latest figures from the Department show that a clear majority of the JSA sanctions imposed in April to June, and about half of the ESA sanctions, were on claimants who had already been sanctioned within the previous two and a half years. Why does the Minister think the sanctions process is failing to change the behaviour of so many benefit claimants, and why does she not accept the recommendation of the Work and Pensions Committee and instigate a full and independent inquiry forthwith?

[Priti Patel]

We know that sanctions are having a positive effect on securing employment, and the figures actually show that. In addition, the claimant commitment clearly outlines to the claimants and the work coach the requirements on supporting the individual back into work. As we are seeing, JSA sanctions have halved and ESA sanctions are down, and they are supporting more people in getting back to work.

European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords]

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

The SNP will support this Bill today for the reasons most eloquently set out earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Stephen Gethins). We will support it in practice as these are sensible and straightforward matters, but we also support the principles behind the legislation.

First, we support the work of the EU and the important role it plays through the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights in protecting our rights as European citizens. I particularly look forward to the opportunity of going through the Lobby today alongside many Government Members, united in our full and unambiguous support for the work the European institutions are doing in this vital area. It would be remiss of me not to comment on the fact that it is a little ironic, however, that as other countries are knocking on the door of the EU, looking to benefit from the work it does on our behalf, this Government are committed to providing the means for the UK to leave the most successful union of states in the world today.

Secondly, the SNP wholeheartedly supports the work to improve dialogue between European institutions and employers and workers’ representatives through the tripartite social summit for growth and employment. Working in partnership with trade unions and employers is fundamental to improving our economic foundations and driving economic growth. If only the Government took this advice when drafting the current Dickensian Trade Union Bill before us. I agree with President Juncker who recently stated that he desires a recovery based on social fairness. This summit will play a key role in delivering this and that is why it will have our support today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

We want to ensure that anybody who goes to a location such as a food bank has the ability to check whether there is a problem—if there is, let us deal with it there. We have also advertised hugely across all the jobcentres, telling everybody they can get benefit advances, hardship loans and so on. We are now beginning to find that when they go to the food banks, they are also being helped to get back into work, which is an added bonus.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

T9. On the administration of the benefit sanctions regime, yesterday’s Sunday Herald reported new figures showing that in nearly 300,000 cases benefit claimants had been penalised with sanctions without being officially notified—that includes an estimated 28,000 cases in Scotland alone. Will the Minister apologise to all those who have faced destitution without proper notice? Will he finally commission an independent review of this badly intentioned and poorly administered system?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I do not recognise those figures, but I will say to the hon. Lady that back in 2001 the last Labour Government decided to move—

[Ms Ahmed-Sheikh]

I am not interested in the last Labour Government.

[Mr Duncan Smith]

Well, she asked the question and if she does not want the answer, that is fine by me. What I am saying to her is that the last Labour Government moved to a clerical system. We have reviewed that approach over the past year and decided that, under the changes we want, going back to an automatic system is much better. The recent statistics released last week show that the rate of appeal was slightly higher among those who did not receive the initial letter appeal than among those who did; we therefore do not think there is a difference. We will be writing to people to remind them that they still have rights to appeal if they wish to do so.

Scotland Bill

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Allen]

I totally understood that and I see why my hon. Friend has done what he has done. I hope we will get a broader consensus in the Committee as a result.

I wish to make one final point on this couple of detailed amendments, and it relates to double devolution. Again, I am not trying to tread on any sensitivities. I am an irregular visitor to Scotland, but when I go there, as I did over the weekend, I often hear people talk about local government in Scotland being centralised, not, for once, to Whitehall, but to Holyrood. I hope that my good friends in the Scottish National party will be clear when they speak in this debate that they reject a recentralisation of power from Whitehall to Holyrood. Such a recentralisation would fly in the face of proper devolution.

I know that the SNP’s long-term agenda is not devolution but separation of Scotland from the rest of the Union. Separation is the long-term goal of SNP Members. That time may never come, or it may come in some number of years. I do not know; none of us can predict. In the interim, I ask parties of all descriptions in Scotland to put themselves at the service of the Scottish people so that they can get the fullest possible benefit from the devolution proposals. Devolution should not merely transfer the ability to tell people what to do from Whitehall—which I resent—to a Scottish Parliament that has accumulated power. Once power has been fought for, granted from the centre and taken down to the lowest level possible, all of us who believe in devolution must avoid the temptation to look at people on the ground and say, “I wonder what we could have from them? I wonder how we can tell them what to do?”

There are some wonderful precedents in Scotland for the other nations of the Union. I hope that all my friends of different political complexions in Scotland will fight as strongly as they fought for their own Parliament to push as much power down to the local level as is humanly possible. I think that we all agree about the need to be sensitive and help people, but it must be done by people as intimately connected with them as possible. That will be another step of progress.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

The Scottish National party has always spoken of powers for a purpose. The reason we are having this debate is that we were promised, as were the people of Scotland, in the run-up to the referendum that we would have a new federalism that was as near to home rule as possible. I hope that the hon. Gentleman accepts that that is the position of the SNP and what the people of Scotland can expect. We want to grow our economy and bring some fairness to society right now, but the hon. Gentleman took to the Lobby with the Government to support further austerity for Scotland.

[Mr Allen]

Unlike the hon. Lady, I never mistake the interests of the Scottish people for the interests of the Scottish National party. Those of us who believe in devolution can unite with those who believe in the separation and break-up of the Union because we will all be better off if we put the interests of the Scottish people first and learn the lessons that they can teach the rest of the nations of the Union.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I thank my hon. Friend for that difficult question. I will, absolutely. Jobcentre Plus staff do fantastic work, do a huge amount to get people back into work, and work with people with difficult conditions, and they welcome universal credit. I will pass on his congratulations to them, and I thank him for asking me to.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

13. If he will make an assessment of the effects of the benefits sanctions and conditionality regime on use of food banks.

[The Minister for Employment (Priti Patel)]

We have looked at the issue extensively, and we agree with the conclusion reached by the all-party parliamentary inquiry into hunger that the reasons for food bank use are complex and overlapping. There is no robust evidence that directly links sanctions and food bank use.

[Ms Ahmed-Sheikh]

While all Members of this House will commend the work carried out by charities such as the Gate food bank in Alloa in my constituency, it is absolutely clear from all independent evidence that the sanctions regime is having a heartbreaking effect on people such as David Duncan from Fife, who, as reported in this morning's Daily Record, was sanctioned after missing a jobcentre appointment, despite being in hospital recovering after major surgery following a serious heart attack. Will the Minister commit to an immediate review of the conditionality and sanctions regime to put a stop to this relentless and heartless assault on vulnerable people in this country?

[Priti Patel]

Food banks play an important role in local welfare provision. I do not accept anything that the hon. Lady has said. In Scotland, the number of jobseeker’s allowance sanctions has decreased from 84,000 in 2013 to 55,000—